cold frame

I made a coldframe!

It's just an old window over frame of bricks stacked together, with some half ones that had a triangle shape to make a slope, and then boards wedged on the outside to cover the gaps. Set on the concrete patio at the south-ish side of the house, where it gets the most sun, and the back is the white siding, which will bounce light into it. Already the glass is dripping condensation from the plants' breathing, and I took the boards off the sides to let the air circulate a little, as it's quite sunny and I don't want it to get so hot in there the leaves burn (that happened a few times with the plastic one).

It was getting tedious to carry the plastic greenhouse contraption indoors every night, and the cardboard I had lined it with getting soggy. Plus, it was getting crowded in there. Now there's more space, and I think it's warm enough I can leave the plants out overnight, to ready them for going into the ground in a few weeks.

The Cauliflowers are almost too big to fit under the glass; I might have to plant them out soonest, under plastic-bottle cloches.

The Lettuces have all perked up and are growing more new leaves.

avocado split

The first Avocado pit I skewered with toothpicks and suspended over water is just beginning to crack- it's the darker line going up the middle, here. I've put it on a smaller jar because it was getting stinky; changed the water to fresh and no longer see mold.

I have a second one that is already growing much faster. About two weeks ago took a forgotten half an avocado out of the fridge to throw away, and found within the blackened fruit the pit had begin to split open. So I put that one on water in the little green jar. Now it's split even more, and a root is emerging! The main crack has almost gone entirely through the pit, and two more are starting, at ninety degrees to the first one (where my fingers are holding it). The whole thing is quartering itself.

If you look very closely, can see a nub deep inside, above the root, which I believe will soon push up and become the leaves.

This is so exciting I have put a third Avocado pit over a baby jar of water.

(The other skewered pit, in my daughter's room, has not begun to crack at all. I think it's because she wants it near the window, where it is rather cold. Mine are kept on top of a shelf near the heat vent, where it stays warm).

bonsai

I've done something brash to my little bonsai Geranium. Inspired when I saw a patch of moss near the downspout in the kitchen bed outside. Split the Geranium into two plants, one in another little pot, and both now with moss tucked around their base. Looks more like a real bonsai! although very small, and perhaps I've given it a shock.

composting

Yesterday was sunnier but still cool with a breeze. I couldn't stand to be inside, so went out and finished digging up and moving my compost pile. The leaves in soggy mats- I really have to figure out how to shred them this year. I don't have a chipper, and don't really want one, nor does my lawnmower have a bag to collect clippings (I like to leave some on the lawn). I suppose I could still run the lawnmower over dry leaves and then rake up the shreds, but that sounds tedious....

Anyway, down at the bottom of the pile I found a good three or four inches of nice dark stuff. Had to pick the sticks out, where I'd tried to make a layer to help it drain. Doesn't help when you put it in the swampiest area of the yard, though. Now I have three five-gallon buckets of compost ready for the garden sitting in the shed (still a bit too mucky to be turning soil over) and the pile is moved to a drier spot, fluffed up to the top of the bin again. It always pleases me something silly to discover at the bottom of all that mess I've made dirt!

here's where it used to be

Now I should plant something in that muddy spot, where surely it's swimming with nice rich yucky things plants like.

chickadee

I was reading with interest this post on another gardening blog yesterday, about chickadees using nesting tubes. And then this morning looked out the front window and guess what I saw? A pair of chickadees checking out a hole near the top of the broken lamp post. They went in and out, in and out, then flew away. I wonder if the pole is hollow all the way down? or is there something in there that would support nesting? Even if they did settle in, probably would be disturbed too soon, as the lamp post is right next to the walk that approaches the front door. I've been thinking for a while about removing that lamp post, and replacing it with a solar-powered one (so I don't have to mess with fixing the wiring). If I do, I won't throw away the old post, but move it to a quieter spot in the backyard and see if the birds do use it. That would be such a thrill.

rooting

Finally bought some rooting hormone powder. All those cuttings I've had? None of them have grown at all, but then they haven't died either. The Aglaonema unfurled a bit more. The Poinsettia looks awful, though. It's started to drop leaves. I took all four of them, made a new clean cut on the stem (with a knife, not scissors, so as to avoid crushing the tissues) dipped them in the hormone powder and put back in their pots, with covers on. Of course they're all an eyesore now, with different shaped juice jugs making little greenhouse effects on my dressertop. I'll patiently wait, and if this doesn't promote new growth, toss them out.

onion woes

The biggest Onion is looking so terrible I decided I had to do something, or just throw it away. So I trimmed off all the leaves that had shriveled, and took it out of its pot, washed the dirt off the roots. Even though they hadn't filled the space yet, the roots were very long and some had turned and begun to come out at the surface of the soil. Plus there was a worm in the dirt- I threw him outside. Then put the Onion over a jar of water, just like the happy smallest one is. Just to see what happens- will it recover?

The smallest one is leaning so much towards the window when I turned it around, it fell right over. Even the roots are crowding against that side of the jar- I didn't know they would do that. So I've turned it and propped up as best I could, until it starts leaning back towards the light. Then I'll rotate it a little bit every day, so it stays straight.

spider plants

I've bought a Spider Plant! My mom always had one in the house, and I've wanted to get one- I know they do well in indirect light, which we have lots of. And they clean the air. So when I saw one at the nursery (buying seeds) at half price, I brought it home. It was really quite sad-looking. It had one baby, which already had a thick knot of dry roots at its base, in the empty air. I immediately potted up the baby.

This morning when I inspected the mature plant, found it was incredibly root-bound.

It's actually a clump of four smaller plants. I divided them and put into a larger pot. (The only other hanging pot I have).

As I didn't want to put the baby in too big a pot until it grows, I just nested its small pot inside the hanging one the original plant had come in, so they can both be suspended.

Right now they look very silly- small scraggly plants in too-large containers. But it's the best I could do, and hopefully soon they will fill out. Even though they appear awkward, it still makes me happy to look at them. With all this growing indoors, its the first plant I've actually spent money on!

cilantro

I found some Cilantro seedlings growing among the Basil, and carefully removed them to put in their own pot. Some unfortunately lost their little roots in the process. But I remembered having read in one of Thalassa Cruso's gardening books that after transplanting you should cover the plants with plastic to seal in the moisture, as the plants can absorb it through their leaf or stem tissues while the roots are recovering. So I tried that- put a plastic juice bottle with the bottom cut off over them. And right away they started to stand up straight! Now I have three pots of Cilantro- A. will be so pleased.

wet compost

Realized my compost bin is in the wrong spot- the soggiest part of the yard. So right now it's sitting in a puddle oozing stink at the bottom. I started to move it yesterday- over to the other side of the yard which is drier, and where it's closer to the majority of the garden. Too much rain to go out today, but as soon as I can going to finish digging it apart. If any at the bottom is ready to use, I'll put it in my empty buckets (uncovered) to dry out a bit in the shed before applying to the garden.

cauliflower

The Cauliflower seedlings are looking much happier, and seem to have grown again overnight. As soon as it stops being so wet and muddy outside, I'm going to transplant them out, under cover.

visiting birds

Lots of birds have been coming to our milk-carton feeder this morning! Two or three sparrows, a pair of bold cardinals (maybe the same pair I used to see around the yard last year?) and a little gray bird which I think might be a junco. Then I heard a louder, racous calling and went back to the window- a blue jay! Robin up in the tree nearby, too- although he doesn't approach for seeds.

I really wanted to get a photo of the jay or cardinals, but only managed to get a few of the sparrows and junco. The sparrows are the first ones who found the feeder, and they don't seem to startle as easily. Once one even sat on the feeder while we went out the door and got in the car! He must have been really hungry.

kiwi

The second bunch of Kiwi seeds has started to sprout.

I moved all of the earlier ones into one larger pot, as they were running out of root room in the shallow tray.

Did a bit more reading about Kiwi- found that the two different-looking seedlings I got are probably male and female plants, but apparently the only way to tell the difference is when they mature and make flowers. Also, kiwis can grow fine in our climate, but they spread and cling as much as kudzu, and can pull down structures- one guy on a forum said his neighbor's kiwi vine growing up their house pulled the gutters off! However, our winter cold might kill the vines, so perhaps if I cut them down each fall, mulched over and let grow again in spring they'd never get too large?

Anyway, I'm not expecting kiwi fruits (don't even like to eat them much), just wanted to see if I could grow them. Funny, a lot of the info I read online said kiwis are difficult to germinate from seed taken from fruit bought in the grocery store- have to be kept at a cold temperature for four months or so! I don't know what I did that worked- just stuck them in damp soil, put in a warm place and waited. Maybe because I let the fruits get slightly rotten first, not removing the seeds when eaten fresh had something to do with it?

seedlings

It's been a busy day. The Cauliflower seedlings have gotten large enough I moved them into individual pots- cardboard tubes cut short and stuffed with potting soil, set in a plastic tray that used to hold something else (all about recycling!)

 

I like this photo of them taken from soil level

They look rather sad here repotted, but in a short time perked up entirely

I did the same with some of the Lettuce seedlings; all the Simpson Lettuce and a half dozen of the Bibb that were large enough. They are all still a bit wilty but I hope will soon recover.

green shoots

Took a walk around the yard today. Sunny, but a bit chill. Raked leaves up where they had blown into corners, cleared the litter off that corner where the Daylilies are transplanted, and mulched them with a bucket of compost that had been saved in the shed all winter. (It looked like the best compost I've ever made!) You can see all the little green shoots of Daylilies and Tulips poking up through the darker compost; so many more than I saw even just yesterday!

Discovered little green shoots with streaks of color coming up under the front yard trees, even when snow still sits in patches nearby. I think it's the Crocus!

 And in the nearly-empty bed edging the front walk, little tiny green plants show their faces. It's all that Phlox I got from a neighbor who had too much in her yard last year; I had thought it was all dead but it's coming up everywhere on the front of the bed. I'm so pleased. Hoping now that perhaps my Hostas are still alive, too; I'll wait and see before I plant something else in those spots.

 

 On the fence edge of the long garden plot, I found Garlics growing, those I had planted last summer in an attempt to make a wall of greenery, and promptly forgot about! I didn't really expect them to come up this spring. They weren't protected much, except for some leaves that had drifted against the fence. But they look nice and healthy. On the other side of the yard, where I intentionally planted Garlics in a row against the fence of the walled plot in Nov, a few straggly looking ones are poking out from the leaves. A bit of snow expected this weekend, so I'm not going to uncover them yet.

garlics against the long bed

 

  

straggly one in the walled plot

cilantro

 

I've had to plant a second pot of Cilantro, we eat it so often the leaves hardly have a chance to grow! It should sprout soon. The Basil is doing better; I found it doesn't like cold. As long as I pull the pots off windowsill at night to keep them out of the chill, they've been looking much better. We ate the first of the Onion greens yesterday; in eggs with fresh Garlic and some Basil. Yum.

the basil looks sad here because I had just picked all the largest leaves off for cooking; but they are vibrant and not drooping now

daylily corner

In the corner between mudroom and house wall, against the driveway where the ground slopes down, something is growing! It looks pretty messy there because I never cleaned up last fall, thinking the Orange Daylilies I transplanted would need their dead leaves to store energy for winter- do they do that like bulbs do? But if you look closely, can see the new plants emerging again. Actually, a few of them are Tulips- I can already see the flower buds forming. I didn't think there were any tulips left in that corner- will have to remember to mark and move them this fall! (I want them all in the front of the house). The lighter-colored shoots that grow in a fanlike formation are the Daylilies.

little geranium

A little over a week ago, I gave my bonsai Geranium a trim, and just now the new little leaves are growing out. The cutting has gotten quite a bit larger, too. Funny, though, I'm pretty sure I planted it in the middle of the pot, but it's situated near one side now. How did that happen?

onion greens

Well, I think I figured out what's wrong with those onions planted for greens. It's not a disease, it's lack of water. I had been letting the soil dry out between watering but now that I soak them every day, one is starting to recover a bit and lift its leaves. The smallest one, still in a jar of water, is doing best of all. It never even wilted. I think if I do this with an onion or garlic again, just going to keep it in a water jar.

the largest one is nearly dead

the medium one is getting better
the smallest one never suffered at all

tiny kiwi plants

Those seeds I planted out of a Kiwi? A few have grown- from teeny tiny seedlings to teeny tiny plants. Only a half dozen, out of the fifty I must have sown. So not very successful, but all I was curious about was to see one grow! The largest here was the first to come up- it now has several leaves. There are also some straight-leaved plants with reddish stems, that grew in the same tray. I think from some seed sitting dormant in the soil, no idea what it is. Probably a weed.